


Your Bones

by floatsodelicately



Series: Your Bones [1]
Category: Bones (TV), Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Crossover, F/M, Fluff, Jealousy, Not Canon Compliant - Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Out of Character
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-10-20
Updated: 2014-10-20
Packaged: 2018-02-21 21:58:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 7,473
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2483849
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/floatsodelicately/pseuds/floatsodelicately
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Hermione and Vincent have a quiet relationship that's about to be discovered. Why is Vincent acting strangely and what is Hermione keeping from her friends?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Overtime and Addressee's

_'So hold on, Hold on to what we are, Hold on to your heart.'_

_Your Bones – Of Monsters And Men_

* * *

"Mr. Nigel-Murray, I need you to take a closer look at the bone fragments," Brennan said as she looked at her young intern, "see if the indentations are consistent with those found on the latest victim. Call me when you finish," and with that, she and Booth left the forensic platform where most of the team had assembled. The others scattered after a few words, Cam returning to her office and Vincent heading to the bones room to carry out his task.

Angela and Hodgins walked to Angela's office, "I think something's going on with Vincent," he said as he sank into a chair.

Angela looked confusedly at her husband, "Why?"

"He's been really quiet. Have you met him? That's not normal. And it's almost," he broke off to check his watch, "3 o'clock and I've had one fact."

She laughed softly and returned to her work, "Just because he's having an off day on the fact front doesn't mean that something's wrong. He could _actually_ be doing his work…"

"He turned down an experiment."

"That's odd, but it doesn't mean that something's wrong," she said, putting down the remote once more.

Hodgins sighed and stood up, "He's acting strangely lately, Ang, it's like he's anxious all the time and…I don't know…"

"Have you tried asking him?" Angela suggested.

"Yeah, that's what got me a fact about dung beetles. It's as if he's distracted by everything but the bones. He's working more too, I checked the schedule and he's got more shifts than usual this month."

Angela walked over to her husband and pulled him into a hug, "Maybe you should have a 'guys night', it always works for us. Well, mostly it does…if you and some of the guys go over, maybe you can see if something's going on," she suggested.

"Ok," he shrugged, "I'll see you later, I've got to run some more tests," he pressed a kiss to her forehead and darted out of the office.

* * *

Hermione was lying in bed, with Fleur hovering beside her casting spells quickly to heal her wounds. They had apparated from Malfoy Manor to Shell Cottage and were recuperating in the Order safe house. "Thank you, Fleur," Hermione said softly, looking from the bandages on her arm to the woman.

"Eet is no problem-oh!" Fleur cut herself off as an owl landed on the windowsill, a letter attached to its leg. "Zis is from Molly," she informed Hermione at her confused look.

"Fleur, could I send a letter? I won't divulge any information, it's just-"

Fleur put a hand on her shoulder and smiled, "No one is worried about you 'divulging' anyzeenk." Her accent was gentle and soothing, "I understand, you 'av been out of reach for quite a while. I'll get you some parchment."

Fleur returned quickly with parchment, a quill and an inkpot for Hermione. Hermione smiled gratefully at her and began writing her letter. A little while later, she heard the sound of a new arrival and recognised the happy voice of Remus Lupin announcing the arrival of little Teddy Lupin. She finished her letter quickly and headed downstairs to meet the others.

Hermione entered the kitchen where the others were gathered and Fleur silently handed her an envelope, she smiled her thanks, tucked the parchment inside it and began addressing the envelope.

"Mr. Vi-" Ron read over her shoulder before she blocked it from his view. "Are you writing to Krum?!"

"No, I'm not. Don't be nosy, Ronald," she continued writing the address and tied it to Iris' leg and whispered her instructions. She watched as the owl took off, not wanting to face Ron's questions right then, but that couldn't be helped.

"If you're writing to your boyfriend, Krum, and then someone finds us then it is my business!"

Hermione turned around, not hiding her irritation, "Viktor isn't my boyfriend and I'm not writing to him! This letter isn't dangerous, I just…I just need to make sure that…" she trailed off, obviously upset.

Harry saw her distress and interrupted, "Ron, just leave it."

Hermione took a seat next to Remus who poured her a cup of tea, "Not Viktor then?" he asked quietly with a small smile.

"Nope," she returned the smile, accepting the tea that he passed to her.

"Am I to assume that 'Vi-' is Mr. Nigel-Murray?" he asked quietly, looking at Ron who hadn't heard them.

"Yes, I haven't been able to contact him, I just don't want him to worry. I said I would owl when I could."

Last Christmas, Remus had gone to check on Hermione when the rest of them were staying at the Burrow, knowing that she and Ron had fallen out but she was still a potential target for attacks, being Harry's friend. He had arrived at the Grangers' home to find that there was no one there. Fearing the worst, he ran to a neighbour's house to ask if something had happened. An elderly woman answered the door with a smile and told him that the Granger's normally go skiing with the family next door but the kids hadn't wanted so go, so they went alone. Remus asked where Hermione was, explaining that he was her old professor, she answered that Hermione and _"the young lad, Vincent"_ were staying at his flat in Leeds. After owling her later that night, Remus dropped by to ensure that the flat was safe and Hermione's wards were stable. Hermione was slightly nervous about Remus meeting Vincent, she had grown close to her professor since meeting him again at Grimmauld Place last year but only Ginny and Harry knew about Vincent and she preferred it that way. Remus was surprised that Hermione had a muggle friend that knew about her magic, but saw how she and the young student and was happy that she wasn't interested in Ron as Mrs Weasley thought – he felt that she needed someone more intellectually stimulating, not to insult Ron, but Vincent definitely provided this. Hermione was pleased that Remus approved of Vincent, and indulged his inquisitive nature he was bombarded with questions.

"It's ok, Hermione," he assured her with an arm around her shoulder. Before turning to answer Fleur's questions about how the other Order members were.

Hermione turned to the window and saw the silhouette of the large owl disappearing into the distance.

* * *


	2. Pizza, Beer and Feelings

The next evening, with the case closed and the girls off to the bar, Hodgins recruited Sweets and Finn for the 'find-out-what's-up-with-Vincent-guys'-night'. They set off to Vincent's house with pizza boxes in hand, not quite sure what to expect from the excitable, and recently mysterious, intern. They arrived at Vincent's house to find that it was quite homey, rather than an apartment or a condo that they would expect from a studious singleton. Making their way up the garden path towards the door and knocked. A few seconds later, a dishevelled Vincent appeared in the doorway, holding the red door close to him and blocking their view inside.

"Erm…hello…did I forget something?" he asked, eyeing the pizza boxes that Sweets was carrying.

"Ah, no, you didn't. We just thought we'd stop by and..."

"See how you were doin'" Finn picked up. He waved a pizza box and grinned, "Thought we could have ourselves a guys' night."

"Guys' night?"

"Yeah, the girls are out having their fun so we thought we could man it up-"

"Well, ok, erm," Vincent agreed awkwardly, the three outside noticed and were determined to get to the bottom of his odd behaviour. "Just give me a second, the house is a bit of a-"

"Vince," Finn laughed as he pushed the door open, "you're the tidiest person I've ever met, ain't no way that your house is a-" Finn fell silent as he looked into the lounge area. Sweets and Hodgins peered around him as Vincent stuttered awkwardly.

"Uhm, Vince?" Sweets started, "there's an owl on your coffee table."

"Oh, him, yes. He _is_ sitting there, isn't he," he broke off as the owl gave an indignant hoot and ruffled its feathers, "she?", the owl cooed at him and went back to preening _her_ feathers.

"You don't know if it's a girl?"

"Erm, she's not mine..."

Vincent ushered the three men inside and shut the door before hurrying to the owl.

"Who does she belong to?"

Vincent set about clearing the coffee table of the dishes he had laid out with some water and treats, hushing her as she glared at him, "Erm, a friend, she's just visiting."

"A she, huh? Do we get to meet her?" Hodgins grinned.

Vincent looked up at him, confused, "But you just did?"

Hodgins blinked, "What?"

"Oh! You meant the friend," Vincent said in realisation, "No no, she's not visiting, the owl-" another hoot and glare caused him to take a glance at a piece of paper on the coffee table, "sorry, erm, Iris is visiting. My friend is back in England."

The three watched in confused astonishment as he nodded at the owl and the bird hopped from its place on the coffee table onto the arm of a high backed chair and made her way onto the back where she promptly settled down. This attracted their attention to an orange ball of fur that looked warily at them.

"Is that a cat?"

"Ah, yes. Crookshanks isn't mine, he's-"

"A friend's?" Sweets guessed with a hint of a smirk.

"Yes, she's travelling at the moment, so…" he confirmed, looking slightly uncomfortable again.

"Well he's cute," Finn said, scratching behind Crookshanks' ear which earned him a satisfied purr.

Vincent chuckled, "He's anything but cute, but he's a good cat."

"Is there such a thing as a 'good cat'?" Hodgins laughed and watched in amusement as the cat glared at him and leapt to the floor, with his fur fluffed up and tail raised in the air as he walked away.

"He gets offended quite easily," Vincent explained, "So can I get you anything? I've got beers or wine…"

They settled around the coffee table with the pizza boxes as Vincent ran into the kitchen to fetch the drinks and plates. Looking around them, Hodgins noticed that the room was filled wall-to-wall with tall bookshelves. The books, journals and periodicals were staple pieces in any academic's home, but they noticed that in amongst the books and magazines were photos. He looked closely at a few and noticed that one girl cropped up a lot. From childhood photos to ones that looked quite recent, a few were even taken around D.C and in Vincent's house. He mentioned it to the others.

"It's quite normal for people who move overseas to surround themselves with photos of people back home," Sweets offered.

"Has he ever mentioned a girlfriend? Maybe they broke up, that could be why he's acting-" he broke off as Vincent entered the room again. "Hey Vince!" he greeted with too much enthusiasm.

"Ok," Vincent said, passing the drinks around. "What is it?"

"What are you talking about? There's nothing-"

Sweets sighed before cutting in, "Listen, we came here to talk to you. We just want you to know that you can come and talk to us. If anything is bothering you or..." he trailed off.

Vincent was picking at the label of his beer bottle, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean for any of this to affect my work. Maybe I've been slacking off-"

"No! You haven't been slacking off," Hodgins jumped in, "You've been doing the opposite, you're doing too much, man. You can let us know what's going on."

"I…I-It's…I can't…" he struggled and put his bottle down on the coffee table before running his hand through his hair agitatedly.

Finn stepped in, "Is something wrong? I mean, you've never mentioned a girlfriend but…" he left his words hanging and gestured to the photographs.

"It's…she's fine. She sent me a letter and…It's been so long and I was so worried," he looked up and the men could see that his eyes were glistening. "Things back in England…aren't so good. I was trying to distract myself, but it just made it worse when I got home from work…no bones to look at or research to do. All I had was Crookshanks here and photo's everywhere, I don't know what I'd do if-" he choked on a sob.

The guys looked on bewildered, they hadn't banked on something that seemed so serious.

"If she's in trouble then I'm sure that we can help out, I mean, I don't know if you've noticed but you kind of work with the F.B.I." Sweets tried with a reassuring smile.

"No, no one can help. I can't even help. That's why I'm here."

"What do you mean?"

"I couldn't stay in England. She said that it wasn't safe," he told them, still unsure how far he could go with his explanation. "I can't really go into it, but she said in the letter that she's fine. She'll be home soon."

"Home as in…?" Finn asked.

"Here," Vincent smiled minutely, "She'll be coming home to me."


	3. Misunderstandings

Hermione woke up one morning to the sound of someone gently knocking on her bedroom door. She and the others were still staying at Shell Cottage recovering from the ordeal at the Manor and the months spent on the run. She sleepily called her visitor inside and smiled awkwardly at Ron as he walked in and sat at the bottom of her bed.

"Hi," he started.

"Hi Ron."

"I wanted to…I mean…I know it's not…I shouldn't have shouted at you the other day," he fumbled for his words as he apologised.

"It's fine Ron," she sighed. They hadn't spoken directly to each other since he blew up about the letter that she sent to Vincent after she had been healed.

"It's just that…well; you know how I get about Krum and…" Hermione was taken aback by Ron's openness; he never usually came out and talked about anything that bothered him. He normally just lashed out like he did in third year with Scabbers and Crookshanks, or the Firebolt, or Krum and the Yule Ball...if Hermione was honest, she knew that it was only for Harry and the war effort that she could stand being around him sometimes. Him abandoning them on the hunt was the last straw, she remembered shouting after him, begging him not to leave, and knowing that if he did, it would be the end of their already strained friendship.

"We never really talked about _us_ after I got back," he continued.

Her brows furrowed in confusion, "What about us?"

Ron smiled at her, almost shyly, "You know, _us_ us. I know that maybe now isn't the best time for this but, you know, I thought that we could make a go of it once this is all over."

"Oh…uhm" she shifted uncomfortably in her bed, following the patterns on the bed sheet with her finger. "Ron, I really don't think that-"

He put his hand over hers, "I know, I know," he said, patting her hand in such a condescending way that Hermione's lip twitched in annoyance. "I'll let you get some rest, we can talk about this later."

He reached the door before Hermione had collected her thoughts enough to be able to respond, he turned back as he heard her speak. Her voice was level, clearly reigning in her annoyance so that she didn't snap at him and start an argument outright, "Ron, there isn't an ' _us_ '. As soon as this is over, I'm leaving-"

"What do you mean 'leaving'?" Ron flushed bright red, a mix of embarrassment and anger. "But we…we're supposed to…you love me!"

Harry and Remus appeared in the doorway at that moment and Harry tried to pull him back as he approached her bed once more, "Come on mate, now's not the-"

"Back off Harry," Ron barked, shrugging off Harry's hand. He turned back to Hermione, "You love me! Everyone knows it! Now I know it and it's ok!"

Hermione sighed sadly and started to get out of bed, toeing on her slippers to avoid the chilly floorboards, "I'm sorry Ron, but I don't. Everyone assumes that I have feelings for you because I hang around with two boys most of the time and so I _must_ be harbouring a crush on one of you…" she drawled sarcastically.

"But when I was with Lavender, you were jealous, everyone saw," he spluttered.

"That wasn't jealousy, Ron. That was me being annoyed with one of my best friends being constantly attached to one of the most vapid girls I've ever met, a girl that he knew had been horrible about me behind my back and, more annoyingly, to my face for years, if I'm not mistaken, you also took part in these gossip sessions, didn't you Ron?"

Harry looked confused, "What do you mean?"

Hermione looked over at Harry and Remus, who looked quite awkward at being in the middle of one of Hermione's most dramatically teenage moments so far, "Lavender took great pleasure in telling Parvarti the things that her Won-Won had told her about me, only while I was in the room of course, no point in saying anything if I couldn't overhear. What was it Ron? _Only good for homework and research?_ Something like that, anyway," she trailed off as she saw Harry's enraged glare at Ron.

"I only said that to her because-"

She held her hand up and walked over to the dresser, taking some of the clothes that Fleur had left for her, "I honestly don't care, Ron. When this is over, I'll be gone-"

"Where will you go? Your parents are gone-" Ron barked out tactlessly.

"I'm not going to find my parents straight away, it'll be a while before I'm sure that they're really safe. But where I'm going is none of your concern, Ronald," her tone was clipped and clearly ended their conversation, leaving him with nothing to do but storm out of the room angrily.

"So where will you go?" Harry asked carefully. "Can you go back to your house?"

She shook her head, but looked at him with a smile, "I'm going to go home."

Remus' mouth twitched into a small smile as he nodded at a silhouette through the window, as if on cue, Fleur's owl had returned with an envelope clutched in her talons, "He'll be happy to have you back." He patted her on the back, leaving her sitting on the bed as she took Vincent's reply from Iris, "We'll see you later, Dora's bringing Teddy over around lunchtime. Come on, Harry," the werewolf guided Harry out of the room, looking back fondly at Hermione before shutting her bedroom door.

* * *


	4. Photograph

Ron walked into the empty kitchen and poured himself a glass of pumpkin juice. He took a seat at the table and glared at his drink.

_'There isn't an 'us'.'… 'That wasn't jealousy.'_

He picked up the glass and held it to his lips.

_'None of your concern, Ronald.'_

The sound of the back door slamming jerked him out of his thoughts and he dropped the glass, spilling the juice over his t-shirt. Realising that he had foolishly left his wand in his room upstairs and didn't want to go up there and risk running into an angry Hermione or Harry, especially when his own temper was running high, he decided to just change his shirt. He looked around the room and spied Hermione's beaded bag hung up on the back of the door. Thinking that whatever he did, he couldn't possibly annoy her any more, he walked over and opened it, knowing that there were a few items of his own clothing stashed away inside from their time camping.

The inside of the small bag seemed to be a bottomless pit of clothes, books, various trinkets that she had gathered along the way, a portrait or two. He rummaged through a pile of clothes and found some that belonged to Harry. His mouth quirked into a smile when he saw that there were three piles of clothes in this little area of the bag; there was one for Hermione, one for Harry, and one for him. He picked up an orange t-shirt from the top of his pile and smiled when he saw the Chudley Cannons logo spread across the front. He looked back down into the bag and spied something unfamiliar beside his pile of clothes. He reached in and pulled it out.

He held up what was now obviously a hoodie and inspected it. It wasn't his, while it seemed long enough, it didn't look as though it would fit him. It looked wide enough to fit Harry's smaller frame but he couldn't remember ever seeing his best friend wearing it. Not that he noticed what he wore all the time, but he couldn't place it and it wouldn't make sense that they would pause the hunt for horcruxes while he was gone to go buy a new hoodie.

Ron moved the hoodie to one hand to look inside the bag again when he noticed something fall out of the pocket. He bent down to pick the piece of paper up and saw that there was writing on it.

_'Hermione with Vincent'_

The writing was familiar, he realised that it was Hermione's mother's handwriting that he had seen in her letters to her daughter while they were at Hogwarts. He turned it over and saw that it wasn't just a piece of paper, but a photograph.

He sank into the chair beside him when he saw the photo. It was a wizarding photograph, unlike the other ones that he had seen her look over during their time on the run. Bill and Charlie had given her a magical camera last summer since she had missed Christmas at the Burrow the year before due to their falling out and his relationship with Lavender – something he now saw as a complete waste of time since she wasn't even jealous as he thought she had been. Her excitement over the magical photos that she had seen meant that she had been taking pictures almost non-stop with both cameras and then comparing the differences. While she liked the idea of moments frozen in time that came with muggle photos, the cycle of movement in magical photographs thrilled her.

He had seen her stare at photos of her and her parents, pictures of her young cousins and her grandparents, all locked securely in a book at the bottom of her bag, safe from Death Eaters. But this photo was hidden in a pocket close to the surface of the purse. The edges were worn as if she had handled it a lot. This photo obviously meant a lot to her.

This photograph of her standing in front of a boy – _a man_ – that looked only a couple of years older than her.

One of his arms on her waist and the other on her hip. It was obviously a familiar pose, judging by her easy smile.

They both looked at the camera and waved. Wide smiles spread across their happy faces.

The man's arms pulled her closer and his head dipped down towards hers.

Hermione's head tilted back to look at him and he swooped down further, pressing his lips to hers.

After a second or two, they looked back to the camera, the photograph restarting.

Maybe it wasn't Viktor. Maybe it was Vincent.


	5. Making Up and Planning Out

Hermione held the letter in her hands. It had been a week since she had sent the letter to Vincent, she had expected it to take a while for Iris to reach him and wait for a reply and then come back. The wait had given her time to recover from recent events as well as the damage done by being on the run for so long, Fleur had healed her wounds and provided her with enough Dreamless Sleep potions that she had almost worked her way back to normal, though she was still tired most of the time. She, Harry and Ron were all malnourished, though she showed it more as she had given the boys part of her share, both to keep them quiet – Ron – and because of her lack of appetite. The stay at Shell Cottage had meant a comfortable bed and regular meals for the first time in almost a year, and she was grateful.

She opened the envelope and began reading the letter. She had read it four times before she finally looked away.

_'Crookshanks says 'hi'.'_

_'They saw the owl, they think you're some sort of mafia ornithologist.'_

She didn't see that Ron was outside the door, watching her as she smiled down at the letter.

_'The house is ready. I know that it was almost done before you had to go, but now everything is sorted and nothing is leaking. I even fixed the sink!'_

He pushed the door open further and stepped inside, causing her to look up at him. He cleared his throat before speaking quietly, "I-I want to apologise…"

"Did Harry put you up to this?" she asked, not unkindly, but not in the friendly, teasing tone that he was used to.

Ron looked slightly affronted before responding, "No, no he didn't. I just- I was looking for my t-shirt and I found a photo in your bag-"

"You have no right to look in my bag," she snapped.

"I know. I know I don't…" he sighed and sat down on the chair beside her bed. She was still sitting on top of the covers, the letter from Vincent placed on her bedside table. "You really didn't ever…love me?" he asked.

She sighed and looked at him sadly. "I liked you, back in fourth year, but then-"

"I made a mess of that, didn't I? Shouting at you like that. I'm sorry about that night, by the way. I knew that I shouldn't have been doing it, all I could think was 'why am I still talking?!'" he said with a small chuckle which she returned with a slight smile.

"We were kids, it doesn't matter."

"But it does," he said. "Let's face it, I have a long history of pissing you off and mucking things up."

"Sometimes you make up for it," she shrugged.

"Can I make up for this year? I've been a right prat. I know that. On the hunt and then leaving, I can't believe I left you, _both_ of you!" he sighed and looked at her, eyes watering. "You don't have to leave."

"But I do, Ronald," she said, only pausing slightly when he grimaced at being called by his full name. "My parents aren't here, there's nothing for them to come back to-"

"What do you mean?"

"Well, the practice wasn't doing that well before they left. They sold it a month before I took their memories away. They'll have a life now, it might be better if I leave them where they are," she continued, choking up as she finished.

Ron's eyes widened and he moved to sit beside her on the bed, "Hey! Hey now, don't cry. Don't say that, you have to give them their memories back. They can't live their lives without knowing you, even if they stay there, they have to know who you are."

Harry walked into the room, having heard their voices as he was passing the room. "He's right you know. I thought you had it all planned out," he said carefully, not wanting to upset her any further.

She closed her eyes and breathed in shakily, "Not completely planned out. I just had a vague idea of what I was going to do…I know that I can't go and restore their memories for at least a year-"

"So where are you going to go?" Ron interrupted.

"I can't tell you yet. Only Remus knows and that's because he helped me put up the wards around the house…"

Harry gave her a smile, "'Not completely planned out', you said. You've got a house ready!"

Hermione rolled her eyes at him, "It wasn't ready when I left." She picked up the letter again and held it in her lap, "It is now though…"

Ron moved slightly and reached into his pocket, pulling out the photograph that he had found in her bag. "So this is who the letter was to?" he asked, handing it to her.

He smiled sadly at the look in her eye as she watched the scene in the photograph as it looped. "Yes," she said quietly. "This is Vincent-"

Harry gave a short cry and nabbed the photo from her hands, disrupting the tense moment quickly. "So _this_ is your lover boy!" he shrugged at her surprised face. "I was curious; you never introduced me to him or showed me any photos. All I had was Ginny telling me that he was in her words 'cute and very Hermione', that's not much to go on." He studied the photograph for a moment, dodging her as she tried to take it back from him. "Where is this? It doesn't look like your house," he asked.

She finally snatched the photograph out of his hands and sat back on the bed. "It's at the new house, Remus took it for us," she turned it over and traced the writing on the back. "Then Mum wrote on it, she's always doing that…even when she's not sure who's in the photo. There is one in my grandma's albums that are labelled 'Mum and some guy, might be Dad, can't tell'…" she trailed off, lost in thoughts of her parents once again.

The trio were silent for a while before she blinked and cleared her throat. "So, about getting into that vault, we need to start brewing…"

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A.N. I wanted Ron to calm down after seeing the picture, it may have been an hour or so between his argument with Hermione and seeing the picture and this conversation and that is obviously too quick for a normal Ron meltdown, but after leaving her and Harry, I wanted him to be more mature and accepting of what Hermione wants. He will still be tactless Ron though sometimes :)


	6. Coming Home

It had been almost a month since that 'guy's night' when Vincent received a phone call as he was getting ready to leave work. Since that night, he had seemed more relaxed, something that Angela was sure had to do with the letter that he kept in the pocket of his lab coat until he hid it from her after catching her trying to pickpocket him during a facial reconstruction.

The lab was quiet, as most of the worker bee's had already gone home, leaving only a few of the team in the lab as they worked on the case. Booth's eyes were shifting between Brennan and Vincent as they harped on about skull fractures and impact angles that _somehow_ meant that their only eyewitness was lying about the position of the body upon discovery. After clearing his throat, their attention snapped back to him and Brennan tried to explain in layman's terms which only meant that Vincent had to further clarify what she meant.

"So he wouldn't have been on his back?" Booth asked.

"Considering that his back was to the wall when he was hit, he would have to spin around in order to land on his back, rather than fall onto his front. It's most likely that he fell on his front and was then turned over," Vincent told him.

"And the eyewitness said that the attacker fled the scene after the first blow-"

Booth was interrupted by Vincent's phone which was set to an annoyingly loud volume which startled the three of them. Vincent jumped in shock and dropped his stack of files before rummaging through his pockets to find his phone.

"I'm sorry, Dr. Brennan. This is very unprofessional of me, I didn't realise that I even had…it with…me…" he trailed off as he looked at the caller. He coughed and looked up at them, "If you'll excuse me, I…I need to take this…"

Vincent walked away, forgetting to pick up his files as he headed towards the interns lounge where it was quiet. He answered the call before he was even two steps away from them, not seeing their shocked expressions.

"Hello?...Hermi-oh, good, that's great…I'm at work…how soon?..." he stopped walking as the voice on the other end of the phone buzzed, confusing Booth and Brennan once more. Vincent hadn't made it out of the room, so they had heard all of his side of the conversation so far as it echoed through the large, and very quiet, room. He turned away from the room that he was about to enter and looked at the main entrance of the lab. They followed his eyes and saw a girl through the glass doors, she looked around his age, possibly younger, standing there with a phone pressed to her ear.

Angela and Hodgins popped up beside Booth and Brennan, similarly fascinated by the turn of events, although they knew more about what was happening. "Is that her?" Angela asked him.

Hodgins nodded as he recognised the girl from the photo's in Vincent's house. She looked thinner than she had in the photos, she even looked like she had run all the way from England, the way that her clothes were ripped in places and he was sure that she had some dried blood from the cuts on her face. "Name's Hermione," he told them.

They watched as Hermione gave a small wave and a large smile to their intern. Vincent rushed to her, pausing only when it seemed the automatic doors wouldn't open fast enough for him, and the girl wrapped her arms around him, neither of them saying a word for a few moments as they gripped each other tightly.

Brennan looked critically at the girl that she assumed was Vincent's girlfriend. Their happiness at seeing each other indicated a close relationship and the way that Vincent – _the sometimes quite reserved Vincent_ – touched the girl, fingers flitting over every piece of exposed skin as if affirming to himself that she was really there and in one piece, before resting his forehead against hers, indicated that they were romantically involved. Brennan took in the girl's long curly hair that was swept back out of her face in a thick ponytail; she was dressed in layers of clothes that were more suited to a colder climate rather than the sunny spell that had hit D.C. over the last week, so she guessed that she had just arrived from somewhere cold. The girl also looked dangerously thin, with dark circles around her eyes that suggested exhaustion and ill health, the signs pointed at malnutrition and stress. She said as much to the others and a nod from Hodgins once again, confirmed things.

"Vince said that there was some trouble at home and it wasn't safe, though now she's here, I think that means it's over," he said.

Vincent pulled back from the embrace, both of them smiling brightly with tears shining in their eyes. The girl, Hermione, yawned a little before apologising with a bashful smile.

"Dr. Brennan," Vincent called, finally turning his attention away from her to look at his boss.

"Yes, Mr. Nigel-Murray?"

"Uhm…would it...would it be ok if I…"

"Mr. Nigel-Murray, you are free to leave, it's already past 7 o'clock so the work day ended hours ago," she told him.

"Thank you," he said, a little awkward smile on his face as he caught Angela's grin and knew that she and her husband would be badgering him for more details soon. He grasped Hermione's hand tightly and led her away from the lab, his eyes staying glued to her although she turned and spared a shaky smile and a quick wave to their audience.


	7. A Stillness

Vincent lay awake in their bed, looking at the witch beside him. Hermione had fallen asleep as soon as she hit the mattress after a long shower and a bite to eat. He had noticed the dirt and blood on her skin as well as the leaves and dust in her hair on their way out of the Jeffersonian; Hermione had apparated them to the house from an alley close to the car park and had magically unlocked the door when he realised that not only had he left his car at work, but also his keys, his bag and his coat. Hopefully no one would question how they got home when he returned to work in a few days. While Hermione went in the shower, Vincent went into the kitchen and put together a meal for her, not quite sure what her appetite would be like; her last letter had mentioned that she was slowly getting her appetite back after months of not eating properly and he wasn't sure if he would give her too much or too little. He decided on a bowl of soup with plenty of bread and a glass of that dreadful pumpkin juice that she always enjoyed; their fridge had some kind of stasis charm so the pitcher that she had left in there the last time she had been in the house was still safe for her to drink.

It had been almost a year since he had seen her the day after she obliviated her parents. He had been with her while she cried at the hopefully temporary loss of her parents and the guilt that she felt for what she had been forced to do to them. She sobbed herself to sleep in the cosy flat that he kept near his university. When the sunlight came the next morning, he nipped to the bakery around the corner for their breakfast and made it back before she knew that he had left. Breakfast was a quiet affair, neither of them really sure what they were supposed to say. How do you say goodbye to your girlfriend, your best friend, knowing that they could very well die and you would never see them again? Knowing that she might not come home to you and the house that you picked out together and she had warded with alarms for him, herself and Remus, who had helped with the more complex wards?

They washed up their dishes and put them away in silence. Vincent went to his room and picked up his backpack, since the house was set up in D.C. and he was only on a short break from his internship at the museum, most of his things were already waiting for him. She took his hand and with a nod and a grimace from him, she apparated them to Leeds Bradford airport.

It had seemed like decades since he walked through the security gates, but here she was. She was bruised and scraped but she was here with him. He noticed new scars on her body as he examined her unabashedly, he knew every inch of her after all; Hermione had invented a study game when he started to get serious about biology and medicine, letting him examine her and then testing him on the names of the bones. It was trickier than using a model skeleton, what with her having tissue and skin and everything covering the bones that she was testing him on, but the game often led to less academic activities so he wouldn't dream of complaining. He didn't want to wake her by removing the bandage on her arm that she had changed when she was washing but he wanted to know what was underneath. The cut on her neck was fading but it was clear that the cut was deep and it would scar, did it come from the same incident as her bandaged injury?

Hermione grumbled in her sleep and shuffled further into his side, distracting him from his thoughts as the smell of her still wet hair caught him off guard, realising that he had missed the smell of her coconut shampoo more than he had thought. It was tainted by the smell of the antiseptic charms and creams that she had covered her scrapes and cuts with, but it was there. He rolled onto his side and wrapped his other arm firmly around her, drawing more sleepy sounds from Hermione as she slept soundly in his grasp.

Sleep now, tomorrow will be better. _She's home_.


	8. Epilogue - Making Headlines

**_ The Daily Prophet – 3rd June 1998  _ **

**_HERO HEARTBREAK AS GRANGER DISAPPEARS AFTER CEREMONY_ **

_By Rita Skeeter_

It was a surprise to the public when Miss Hermione Granger left last week's award ceremony early after receiving her Order of Merlin, First Class award along with her fellow war heroes. Miss Granger, who has previously been linked to Harry Potter, Viktor Krum and the new keeper for the Falmouth Falcons, Cormac McLaggen, has left amid the rumours that she and Ronald Weasley, another recipient of the Order of Merlin, are involved. The sad look on Mr Weasley's face when he and Mr Potter returned to the ballroom without Miss Granger leads this reporter to believe that this young witch has broken _yet another_ young wizard's heart…

**_ The Daily Prophet – 1 _ ** **_ st _ ** **_September 1998_ **

**_ Hogwarts Reopens After Reconstruction _ **

_By A. Fenetre_

A little less than four months after much of the castle was destroyed, Hogwarts is ready for its students to return. The number of first years in this coming year is almost double the usual amount and will mostly be made up of muggleborn students that were prevented from attending last year. The new headmistress, Ms Minerva McGonagall, has ensured us all that the school will be well equipped to deal with the new school year and though parts of the castle are still under repair, they are looking forward to a new start. New members of staff this year include Professor Neville Longbottom, Madame Kursten Blane and Professor Remus Lupin…

**_ The Daily Prophet – 18 _ ** **_ th _ ** **_November 1998_ **

**_ WWW REOPENS TODAY! _ **

_By R. Almeidus_

Six months after the Final Battle at Hogwarts and the demise of You-Know-Who, one of Diagon Alley's most popular shops is about to open its doors once more. Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes was opened in 1996 by Messrs Fred and George Weasley and was one of the last shops to close in the Alley earlier this year. The joke shop was not the only one not to open when the repairs on the Alley were finished after the destruction of the Death Eater raids and the break-in at Gringott's bank which left building smashed and scorched in the wake of one of their security dragons _(for more on the relocation of the now 'liberated' security dragons, turn to page 27),_ Mr Fred Weasley's death in an explosion in the Final Battle has left his twin brother George to reopen their shop with their younger brother, Ronald Weasley, best friend of Harry Potter…

**_ The Daily Prophet – 29 _ ** **_ th _ ** **_December 1998_ **

**_ GRANGER MARRIES MUGGLE IN SURPRISE CEREMONY! _ **

_By Parvarti Patil_

Miss Hermione Granger is no more! Yesterday held yet another surprise from the witch as she invited friends and family members over for dinner, only to hand out portkeys and transport the group to a church in Washington D.C. As one of the bride's former housemates, I was surprised to find out that she and the groom had been childhood friends and had been together since her sixth year at Hogwarts. The groom, Mr Vincent Nigel-Murray, is a muggle forensic anthropologist working at the Jeffersonian Institute in D.C. though he and the new Mrs Nigel-Murray both hail from London _(for more on the new exhibition 'A History of Quidditch' in the magical section of the Jeffersonian, turn to page 49)…_

**_ Witch Weekly – 7 _ ** **_ th _ ** **_June 1999_ **

**_ Out of the Reserves! _ **

_We sit down for an interview with Ginny Weasley, the new Chaser for the Holyhead Harpies the week before her first match. You'll get to read all about her place on the team, her rigorous training and perhaps, how she manages to catch the Golden Snitch that is her fiancé, Harry Potter._

**_ The Daily Prophet – 7 _ ** **_ th _ ** **_November 1999_ **

**_ BABY NIGEL-MURRAY ON THE WAY _ **

_By M. Carneirus_

Mr and Mrs Nigel-Murray were spotted leaving Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes, owned and run by family friends George and Angelina Weasley, yesterday during a shopping trip. While this in itself is of little note, it is the baby bump that was revealed when a sudden gust of wind blew Hermione Nigel-Murray's coat open that is the cause of much fuss. The Nigel-Murrays returned to England after Vincent finished his stay as an assistant in Washington D.C. and accepted a job closer to home at the Natural History Museum. A source close to the family said that they were "very happy and looking forward to their daughter's arrival next year".


End file.
